As genome sequencing and other cellular analytic techniques become more and more commonplace, interest in characterizing collections of cells has grown. For example, sequencing and characterizing microbial isolates, such as those from natural microbial systems or newly engineered microbes, would allow scientists to gain an understanding of the many different types of microbial ecology and phylogeny that exist. Similarly, analyzing many cells in a tissue sample would increase understanding of cellular diversity in the tissue. However, analysis of collections of cells has been difficult to perform on large scales due to the high costs associated with analytical processes. For example, sequencing processes require preparation of a nucleic acid “library” from each cell that is subsequently sequenced to analyze the associated genomic data. While sequencing costs have decreased over time, the cost of library preparation has remained relatively expensive.
Current solutions for single-cell analysis are expensive because they involve costly chemicals that are not efficiently utilized and multi-step processes that are carried out manually or through expensive liquid-handling robots.